My Little Audrina
by girl-inspired
Summary: A contemporary take on The Little Mermaid, meets VC Andrews, meets Hanson.
1. Part 1

Part One  
  
Far away in the southern hemisphere, in a world most Americans are totally oblivious to, the water is a blue-green colour, disguising the sewerage that is pumped out into the ocean every day by the sewage works at Malabar. The trees are a mixed bunch, with both pale coloured native trees and brightly coloured deciduous trees brought in from Europe gracing the parks. Down there live the Australians.  
Now, you must not think that there is nothing but bush and kangaroos in this country. No, there are many large and (self)-important cities there, with tall buildings and millions of people. Cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane dot the East-coast of Australia, making themselves home to millions of self-important people, living in millions of self- important houses, among which were the houses in Whitefern Lakes.  
Whitefern Lakes was a huge expanse of land in Mosman, on the North Shore of Sydney. The houses in Whitefern Lakes were the most beautiful and extravagent in the entire city and the people living in Whitefern Lakes were the richest and most extravagent people in the entire city. They never mixed with anyone outside Whitefern Lakes unless they were going to travel overseas. No one in Sydney was good enough for the residents of Whitefern Lakes, except of course, the residents of Whitefern Lakes.  
Perhaps the most extravagent of all the houses in Whitefern Lakes was Whitefern Cottage, although one could hardly call it a cottage. Whitefern Cottage was perched on the top of a hill, smack-bang in the middle of Whitefern Lakes. The artificial river that ran through Whitefern Lakes actually ran around the house in the shape of a moat. People said that Whitefern Cottage was like a palace, and if Whitefern Cottage was a palace Christopher Whitefern was King.  
Christopher Whitefern, the middle-aged business man who ran Whitefern Lakes, had been a widower for many years, but his old mother kept house for him (after all, he was a man, and housework is "women's work"!). She was a clever woman, but very vain and proud of her former fame. You see, Ophelia Whitefern had been a very beautiful and very famous actress in Hollywood in the 1940s. All that had come to an end when Christopher had been born. But in Ophelia's mind it was still the 1940s, and so she preceded to slink around the house in feather boas, drinking champagne and talking about her former life.  
Don't think for a moment however that Ophelia was a useless person. Apart from her brazen levity, she deserved great praise, especially for her care of her six grandchildren, the Whitefern girls. They were six beautiful children with six beautiful voices, but the youngest, Audrina, was the most beautiful and talented of all. Every afternoon, when the Whitefern girls returned home from the Whitefern Lakes school, they'd sit around Ophelia, begging her to tell them of her life in Hollywood. All the Whitefern girls would listen eagerly to Ophelia's stories, but none more eagerly than Audrina.  
Audrina loved to hear about Hollywood, and about America, and about all the handsome young men who lived there. She made her grandmother tell her all she knew about parties and glamour, magazines and prom queens. It seemed strange to her that there was a world where people only dated insiders and wore glamorous dresses every day, a world quite like Whitefern Village it seemed, except far, far, more exciting.  
Audrina longed to leave Whitefern Village and go to Hollywood, where she'd be able to find adventure, excitement, and romance. She told her grandmother of this, who only laughed.  
"Oh Audrina!" Ophelia said. "Have patience my dear! When you are fifteen years old, you will be allowed to go to America all by yourself and you will be allowed to do whatever you like for three whole months."  
But fifteen years old seemed like such a long time away to Audrina. The following year her eldest sister would be fifteen; but the others - well, the sisters were each one year younger that the other; so poor Audrina had to wait another six years until she could go to America. It didn't seem fair to Audrina that she, who wanted to go to America most of all, should have to wait the longest.  
Eventually it was Audrina's eldest sister's, Vera's, fifteenth birthday. The day that the Whitefern girls took Vera off to the airport was one of the airport was one of the most exciting in Audrina's life - they'd blow-dried Vera's hair, done her make-up and put on her best dress. When Vera returned she told the others of how she'd stayed in Beverly Hills - and had a romance with Luke Perry! Words could not describe how excited the Whitefern girls were for Vera.  
Oh, how Audrina listened to all of Vera's tales! The palm trees, the soft white sand, the gorgeous surfers... It all seemed a lifetime away for Audrina and a world away from Whitefern Village. Audrina decided that by the time *she* got to visit Hollywood, she'd know exactly what she wanted to do, so from that day on Audrina began to buy Hollywood magazines each week.  
The years went by, until finally it was just two years away from Audrina's visit to Hollywood. Audrina's sister Angel returned from America with the most exciting news yet! Angel had enjoyed a romance with the star of 'Romeo and Juliet' - Leonardo DiCaprio. No amount of writing could express the sadness, the anger, and the hurt Audrina felt towards her sister. It just wasn't fair! Leonardo DiCaprio was the best actor in Hollywood, not to mention the cutest guy in the whole world.  
Audrina didn't speak to her sister for an entire week, when the latest issue of 'Dolly' magazine came through the mail. As she did every month, Audrina began to flick through the pages of the magazine, eager to find pictures of Leonardo and find out all the latest Hollywood gossip. But as Audrina flicked through the pages of the magazine, she saw a boy... but not just any boy! A beautiful boy! Why, Audrina was certain that this must be the most beautiful boy she had *ever* seen. Audrina hurriedly looked down at the caption. Taylor Hanson. The name of this fine specimen was Taylor Hanson! Audrina clutched the magazine to her heart and sighed. Audrina no longer hated her sister Angel for having dated Leonardo DiCaprio, for now Audrina had found herself her own love. But oh, two more years until she could finally visit America! How unfair!  
For the next two years Audrina collected every little piece of information she could on this boy, Taylor, and the band he was in, Hanson. Although Audrina was normally a smart girl, she sat by her television screen watching Hanson clips every day and sang along with her Hanson CDs every night.  
One night, around a week before her fifteenth birthday, Audrina was singing along with '3 Car Garage' in her bedroom when Ophelia walked in to speak with her. "Hi Grandma," Audrina said happily, stopping her singing.  
"Good evening Audrina..." Ophelia drawled in a fake Southern accent as she strolled into the room. "Have you finished all your homework, or are you just procrastinating?"  
"Yes, I've finished it all," Audrina said removing the CD from the CD player. She sighed dramatically. "But it's so hard to concentrate on it. I just keep on thinking about how I'm going to LA next week." She hugged herself. "I'm just so excited!"  
Ophelia glanced up at the posters on Audrina's wall and smiled. "Let me guess... it's because of that Taylor boy?"  
Audrina nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to meet him!" she said. "I'll bet he's... wonderful..."  
Ophelia smiled again. "I suppose you're hoping to have a romance with him?"  
Audrina's eyes widened. "Oh definitely," she said, not telling Ophelia of her thoughts of Taylor Hanson's tongue in her mouth.  
Ophelia frowned. "Well, Audrina.... I hate to be the one to tell you this but... well, there's not much chance of that happening."'  
Audrina's eyes widened even more, if that was possible. "What do you mean Grandma? What about Vera and Luke Perry; and Claudia and Mark Owen; and Cindy and Jonathon Brandis; and Angel and Leonardo DiCaprio; and Kathleen and Nick Carter?" Audrina frowned. "And I know I'm not ugly. Daddy always says that I'm pretty, and so do you."  
Ophelia looked at Audrina, taking in her long dark hair and brown eyes. "Oh Audrina.... you are very pretty, and I'm sure that all the boys in Whitefern Village would be glad to be with you but... Things are different in America, Audrina. There, if you want to be considered attractive you have to be... uh... how shall I say this?" Ophelia was at loss for words for once and her accent was starting to fade. She bit her lip. "Well endowed..."  
Audrina giggled. "You're so funny Grandma!" she said. "Just say it!" Audrina looked sad. "You have to have big breasts."  
"Well," Ophelia replied. "To put it crudely, yes." There was a silence. "Now, Audrina, I've thought about getting you breast implants to help you out but... We only give you $10 000 spending money while you're there and breast implants cost at least $15 000." Ophelia took a business card from her bra. "Here's the card of a surgeon you can see once you get to Los Angeles, honey. He doesn't charge monetary fees, you can pay him in other ways."  
Audrina was shocked. Her Grandmother was recommending that she get her breasts enlarged *and* sleep with the plastic surgeon? "Other ways?" she asked nervously.  
Ophelia saw the fear in Audrina's eyes and laughed. "No dear! Nothing like that. Dr. Livingston makes you pay in very strange ways, but I hear that it's worth it...." She shrugged. "At the end of the day it's up to you though, Audrina. And I'm sure you'll make the right decision." Ophelia kissed Audrina on the forehead. "Goodnight sweetheart..."  
"Goodnight Grandma," Audrina replied. Ophelia smiled and walked out of the room. Audrina sat back on her bed and sighed. Breast implants? And she thought Vera, Angel and Kathleen had just had growth spurts in peculiar places when they'd returned from America.... 


	2. Part 2

Part Two  
  
Audrina walked down the busy streets of LA with her designer bag slung over her shoulder. She'd just dropped her suitcases off at the Sheraton and decided that she needed some 'fresh' air (after all, this *was* LA). Audrina looked around her. It seemed that she was the only one walking along the streets. Everyone else was driving. Audrina was lonely. It was going to be her birthday the next day and she would be all alone. She put her hand in her pocket. 'Dr. Livingston's Corrective Surgery', it read. It was situated on Granges Road which, funnily enough, happened to be the road Audrina was walking along at that very instant. Why not, Audrina thought to herself. It wasn't as though she had anything better to do.  
Thirty-five, thirty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-one... Audrina looked up at the surgery. It wasn't terribly impressive, just a little door leading to a stair-case and wedged between two boutiques. Audrina opened the door and walked up at the stairs. When she reached the top, she walked over to the reception. "Um, hello, I'm..."  
"Audrina Whitefern, we've been expecting you," the receptionist replied with a smile. "Dr. Livingston will be with you in a few minutes."  
"But..." Audrina began.  
"Take a seat," the receptionist urged.  
Audrina sat down and began to flick through the latest issue of 'People' magazine. How had the receptionist known her name? Audrina had never seen her before in her life.  
"Audrina Whitefern?" An old man wearing a white coat poked his head around the corner. Audrina looked up. "Come in Audrina," the man said warmly.  
Audrina stood up and walked into his office.  
"Take a seat," the man urged. "I'm Dr. Livingston," he explained.  
Audrina nodded. "I'm here because-"  
"You're here because you want breast implants," Dr. Livingston finished. "You're currently about a...." Dr. Livingston sized Audrina up. "About a B cup and you'd like to be a D."  
Audrina nodded. "How did you know that?"  
"It's one of the secrets in my trade." DR Livingston brushed Audrina off. "Don't worry Audrina, we here at DR Livingston's Corrective Surgery can fix you up." He paused. "Now, about payment..."  
"Well, I don't have a lot of money..." Audrina began.  
Dr. Livingston smiled. "No, girls never do." His kind face changed to the most horrific Audrina had ever seen (with the possible exception of Lyle Lovett). "But you must pay me," he added. "And it is not a trifle I ask. You have the most beautiful voice of all, and you probably think that you can charm this.... Taylor Hanson -"  
Audrina gasped. How did this man know so much about her?  
"With it," he continued evilly. "But this voice you must give to me. I must have the best thing you possess in return for... my method of making your breasts grow, for I have to give you my own blood in it, so that it will work properly."  
"Will I be able to speak?" Audrina asked.  
Dr. Livingston looked shocked. "Of course not! Are you stupid? I'm going to cut your tongue off - how would you be able to speak?"  
"But how will I ever get home?" Audrina asked.  
The doctor laughed. "If you win Taylor Hanson's heart, will you ever want to go home?"  
"But what if I don't?" Audrina asked, becoming a little upset.  
"What if you don't? What if you *don't*?" Dr. Livingston paused. "I must have forgotten to explain that part. The day Taylor Hanson marries another you must kill yourself, on his wedding night, or else your skin will burn as though I have covered it with acid."  
Acid? This was shocking!  
"It's up to you," Dr. Livingston said. "You can take it or leave it. But at least with me you've got a chance."  
A chance with Taylor Hanson? Audrina swallowed her fear. "I'll do it." 


	3. Part 3

Part Three  
  
Audrina awoke the next morning to the sound of the Offspring's 'Pretty Fly For A White Guy'. She opened her mouth to sing along, but nothing came out. Getting over her initial shock, Audrina remembered what had happened the previous afternoon. She would never be able to speak or sing again.  
Audrina rolled out of bed and walked over to the mirror to admire her newly voluptuous figure. She smiled at herself and opened her mouth. There was no tongue! Audrina had been expecting this of course, but when she saw her strange mouth she realised that there was now another thing she could not do.  
Audrina would never be able to French-kiss Taylor Hanson!  
Life was cruel.  
She pulled a yellow sundress from her suitcase and began to dress herself. As she tugged on the zipper she realised that she was going to have problems with her clothing from now on. The dress still fit but it was very... ah... tight.  
However, unlike certain other fairytale heroines who've been in similar situations, Audrina was a smart girl who knew how to make the best of a situation. The tight dress would make her look even *more* attractive to Taylor and the fact that she couldn't speak didn't mean that she couldn't communicate. Audrina put a pen and paper in her bag and left the hotel.  
She walked down the street until she came to a newsagency. Audrina loved magazines. Which should she buy today? She was very excited to see the many magazines that weren't available in Australia. There were all these pictures and articles on Hanson that she'd never seen before. How exciting!  
Audrina was flicking through Hanson magazines and trying to decide which she wanted when a blonde girl around her age approached and started flicking through magazines. The girl looked at her and smiled. "Are you into Hanson?" she asked.  
Being from Whitefern Village and therefore totally oblivious to the persecution Hanson fans suffer, Audrina nodded.  
"Me too," the girl replied. "Are you going to their concert tonight?"  
Audrina shook her head. It was getting annoying, not being able to say anything.  
The girl raised her eyebrows. "I am. My name's Cara."  
Audrina was beginning to feel really stupid about not being able to talk to Cara. She held her hand up and removed her paper from her bag. "My name's Audrina," she wrote. "I didn't know there was a concert on."  
Cara looked surprised. "You didn't know? It's been advertised for months... Have you got laryngitis?"  
Audrina shook her head. "I can't talk. I have no tongue," she wrote, feeling really stupid. Perhaps it would have been better to be a B- cup who could talk than a D-cup who had to write down her every thought.  
"No tongue?" Cara asked in disbelief. Audrina opened her mouth. "Oh my god!" Cara said, recoiling in horror. "Poor you! Listen, I have a spare ticket to the concert tonight, so if you want to got with me..."  
Audrina's eyes widened with delight.  
"I'll take that as a yes?" Cara asked.  
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you sooo much," Audrina scribbled urgently.  
"Cool. You want to go down to the mall?" Cara asked.  
"Yes! Thank you! This is the best birthday present *ever*!" Audrina wrote happily. And it was. A chance to be so close to Taylor on her birthday was a dream come true. 


	4. Part 4

Part Four  
  
"Where's the love, it's not enough to make the world go round and round... come on! Where's the love..." Taylor Hanson sang, jumping up and down to his 'masterpiece'. "I wanna see you all jumping," he yelled into the microphone.  
To Taylor's delight the girls in the audience began to jump. Excellent. Taylor gave Isaac a little thumbs up from underneath the keyboard and Isaac gave him a look of approval. Now they would get to watch the girls in the audience's breasts bouncing along to 'Where's the Love'.  
Taylor began to check out the girls in the audience. The front row was full of the usual screamers, jerking around to the music and pointing at Taylor, Isaac and Zac whenever the word 'you' was mentioned. Taylor glanced back at Zac who also gave him a look of approval. Taylor noticed that Zac had brought his supersoaker along with him. Great idea. A lot of the girls were wearing white singlet tops. "Come on! I can't see everyone moving!" Taylor yelled during Isaac's solo.  
Taylor turned his attention to the second row. There were a few pretty girls there, but most of them were under the age of thirteen. They were way too young for Taylor now - he'd turned sixteen that day. "We've gotta change our point of view if we want the sky blue!"  
Taylor began to scan the third row. There was a pretty blonde girl wearing a Hanson t-shirt - she was quite attractive. Taylor smiled at her. But then Taylor saw the girl beside her. She had long dark hair and the biggest brown eyes he'd ever seen. She also had really long legs. Taylor thought she looked a bit like a deer. A deer with really big breasts. Taylor would refer to her as 'Bambi' from now on. He noticed that Bambi wasn't screaming. Didn't she know his rules for concerts? "Where's the love, I can't hear you!"  
She *still* wasn't screaming. Why the hell not?  
"Well you know, we couldn't sell a record...." Isaac began.  
Taylor walked away from his keyboard. He knew how to get Bambi's attention.  
"We couldn't do a concert, and we couldn't..." Isaac continued.  
Taylor would do a dive off the stage.  
"Live a minute without you...." Isaac finished.  
As Isaac began to play the opening riff Taylor began to jump. Hopefully the girls wouldn't tear his clothing apart and he'd be carried over to Bambi. But what was this? They were all moving away from him! At this rate he'd end up on the floor. For God's sake - he wasn't *that* heavy!  
"Shit!!!" 


	5. Part 5

Part Five  
  
"Where's the love, it's not enough," Taylor sang into the microphone.  
Audrina looked at Cara and smiled. She was too excited to be able to write down her feelings, but a smile can speak a thousand words. Audrina was so excited to be only four metres away from Taylor... he looked so beautiful! He sounded beautiful too, just as good as he did on the CD. This was definitely Audrina's best birthday present ever. If only she could sing along... Audrina couldn't even be bothered mouthing along, because she knew that no sound would come out ever again. She sighed.  
"Where's the love... I wanna see you all jumping," Taylor called, bounding as he sang the song. Audrina thought his enthusiasm was really endearing so she, like the other girls in the audience, bounded along with him. She saw Isaac smile at Taylor. His enthusiasm must be infectious.  
Audrina watched Taylor jump. She wondered how he managed to jump, play the right notes on the keyboard, *and* sing without running out of breath all at the same time. He sure was talented. Audrina was starting to run out of breath, and she wasn't even singing. She stopped jumping and began to catch her breath.  
"Well you know, we couldn't sell a record...." Isaac began. Audrina smiled. This was predictable. She'd seen the 'Tulsa, Tokyo & the Middle of Nowhere' and 'Live From Albertane' videos hundreds of times. They should try to come up with more things to say. Audrina noticed Taylor leaving the keyboard. He was probably going to stick his hand out into the audience. If only she was in the first row, rather than the third.  
"We couldn't do a concert, and we couldn't live a minute without you," Isaac finished. The audience began to scream. Audrina smiled to herself. She wished she could scream.  
But what was Taylor doing? As Isaac began to play the opening riff Taylor wasn't returning to his keyboard, he was jumping - off the stage! Taylor Hanson was going to do a stage dive!! What was he *thinking*?? As Taylor began to fly through the air the girls in the audience moved back quickly.  
"Shit!!!" he screamed.  
Taylor landed on the ground with a thud.  
Zac stopped playing, quickly followed by Isaac and the backing musicians. The girls began to move back in towards Taylor, ripping his shirt off him. Audrina also moved in closer. Taylor was probably hurt! He'd dived head-first off the stage and rather than helping him, his fans were ripping off his shirt! Taylor could die...  
No, no, he must not die! Audrina had to do something. She pushed her way through the crowd using all her strength. The girls were actually starting to move away, but they were still blocking security from getting to Taylor. At last Audrina found him. His shirt was no longer on him, rather in the hands of the girls who ran up to him, and Audrina could see his ribs. Poor Taylor. Why wasn't anyone doing anything?  
When Audrina reached Taylor she began to pull him away so that she could get him to some doctor or something. She found that he was surprisingly light, even for someone as thin as he was. She took her sweater from her bag and covered him with it. It'd be easier to get him away that way.  
Somehow Audrina managed to pull Taylor all the way out of the amphitheatre until they were sitting somewhere around the back. Or rather, Audrina was sitting. Taylor was lying flat on his back. Audrina could hear the commotion inside. She hoped that security wouldn't get too angry with her. After all, if it weren't for Audrina, Taylor would be ripped apart.  
Audrina looked at Taylor's lifeless body. He wasn't dead, was he? She felt his chest for a heartbeat. Thank goodness. He must have just passed out or something. Still, things weren't looking good.  
Audrina kissed Taylor's beautiful forehead and fixed up his hair. She couldn't be sure, but she thought that he may have had clumps of hair pulled out by the fans. Poor Taylor. She thought that he looked so much better in real life than he did in the posters on the wall of her room. She kissed him again and again, and prayed that he might live.  
After a while, Audrina tired of kissing Taylor and sat there looking at him. She couldn't believe that no one had found them yet. Were they really that well hidden? Audrina felt sorry for Isaac, Zac and the rest of Taylor's family. They must be so worried about him.  
Taylor's eyes fluttered open. Audrina gasped. He looked at her strangely. "Bambi?" he asked.  
Audrina frowned. Taylor thought she was a deer? He must have been hallucinating. She pulled her pen and paper from her bag.  
"Bambi?" Taylor repeated. He shook his head. "This is weird. One minute I'm at the concert and the next I'm lying here with Bambi." He looked at Audrina, who was urgently writing on her paper. She handed it to him. "My name's not Bambi, it's Audrina. You stage dived at the concert and the fans removed your -" Taylor read. "What???" he asked looking down at himself in shock. "Oh... I thought we..."  
Audrina's eyes widened in shock. She grabbed the paper and began to write again. "No! Certainly not! I took you here so that you wouldn't lose all your clothing," she wrote. "I guess you'd better go back now."  
Taylor raised his eyebrows. "Right. Why aren't you talking to me Audrina?"  
Audrina rolled her eyes. Only one day since she'd lost her voice and explaining herself was already getting annoying. She'd have to learn sign language or something. "I can't speak. I have no tongue." She opened her mouth to show Taylor.  
Taylor look surprised. "Well, that's no good, is it?"  
'No shit!' Audrina thought. She shook her head. "I just want to say thanks for giving me such a great birthday present," she wrote.  
"No kidding??" Taylor asked. "It's my birthday too! How old are you?"  
"I know," Audrina wrote. She flashed her hand three times.  
"Fifteen," Taylor mused. Fifteen wasn't too bad.  
"My parents sent me to the states for three months as a birthday present," Audrina wrote.  
"Your parents sent a mute girl overseas for three months?" Taylor asked, surprised.  
Audrina raised her eyebrows.  
"That must be hard for you," Taylor added.  
"Not really, I've wanted to come here all my life," Audrina wrote. "It's a family tradition." Audrina didn't care to mention her other family traditions. This was going nowhere. Maybe she should make herself look more pathetic. "I had a tongue when I came here, but someone cut it off and now there's no way I can ever book a ticket home," she wrote. Audrina looked at Taylor with wide eyes.  
"Which is... where?" Taylor asked.  
"Australia," Audrina wrote. "I can't do anything now that I've lost my tongue," she added, underlining the word 'anything'.  
Taylor looked sad. "That's a shame," he said earnestly. Audrina had won his sympathy! "Don't worry, I'll see what I can do," he said, standing up. He Audrina's hand and pulled her up. "Come on." 


	6. Part 6

Part Six  
  
Audrina, being slightly more manipulative than your average fairytale heroine, managed to convince the Hanson family to take her in to their house. Everyone was sympathetic to the plight of the poor beautiful mute girl from Australia, even Hanson's most obsessive fans. After all, Audrina had no tongue. If only they'd known that Audrina was actually a very rich girl from Whitefern Lakes who had been foolish enough to give up her tongue for bigger breasts.  
And if truth be told, Audrina's breasts weren't coming very much in handy at all. Taylor's initial lust for Audrina was short lived - he saw beautiful girls every day of his life and even Audrina wasn't so beautiful as to make up for that. And some of the beautiful girls were very, shall we say, 'fast', believing that they had to lose their virginity some time and it would be better for it to be to Taylor Hanson than some less attractive boy from down the street.  
So while Audrina was very good friends with the Hanson boys, that was all it was. Audrina wanted more though, for she still loved Taylor. Taylor loved her, but more in the way that someone would love a pretty, well-behaved child than a ravishing sex-goddess.  
The Hansons dressed Audrina in mismatched clothes that looked as though they'd come out of 'The Brady Bunch' or some other 70s television show similarly lacking in style. Despite this, Audrina was still far more beautiful than any of Taylor's hussies that he picked up in concerts; but she was dumb, and unable to sing, speak, or French kiss. Beautiful fans, dressed in Bebe, came to sing to the Hansons. One of them sang better than all the rest, and Taylor clapped his hands and looked at her bedroom eyes. Then Audrina grew terribly sad, for she knew that she had been able to sing far more beautifully; and she thought: "Oh, if only Taylor knew that I have given away my voice forever to be with him!"  
Everyone was charmed by Audrina, especially Taylor, who called her his little deer and said that she should always be near him, and let her sleep on a velvet cushion just outside his bedroom. Sometimes when Taylor brought girls back after the concerts Audrina would have to put the pillow over her head to block out all the noise. Sometimes Audrina felt like Taylor's dog, rather than his friend.  
Day by day Taylor grew more fond of Audrina. He loved her as one would love a good, sweet child, but (surprisingly, as at eighteen he was humping everything that moved) it never crossed his mind to sleep with her, let alone marry her. And yet, Audrina must marry Taylor, or she would have to kill herself on the night of his wedding.  
"Don't you love me more than all of them?" Audrina wrote, handing Taylor a piece of paper as he checked out the girls from backstage.  
Taylor took the paper and laughed. "Yes, I cherish you Audrina, for you are the only one who truly loves me, and you are by far the most sweet and pure."  
Audrina had to stop herself from smiling. If only Taylor knew.  
"But it's for that very reason that we could never be together..." Taylor continued. "We don't have the sort of relationship that makes for good sex."  
Perhaps Audrina shouldn't have given up her tongue for bigger breasts.  
Taylor nodded to himself. "Yes, you are definitely the most devoted to me, and I like that. You remind me of this girl I met when I was much younger, she was very much like you, but alas, she was a Satanist's daughter so we could not be together. She is the only girl in the world I could ever truly love, but you are very much like her, and you almost drive her image from my heart. But she is a Satanist, and so by good fortune you have been sent to me, and we shall never part."  
Audrina understood Taylor completely. He was such an honest, good- hearted person. He could never be with anyone who didn't share his high values. But Audrina could share them. Audrina consoled herself that while Taylor loved this other girl, she could never be with him. On the other hand, Audrina and Taylor were together every day. Audrina would care for Taylor, love him, give up her life for him...  
But as the years went by, the rumours began to spread. Shortly after Audrina's twentieth birthday, she began to hear rumours that Taylor was to be introduced to an old rock star's daughter. Apparently this girl, like Audrina, had been crushing on Taylor for years and had finally used her father's pulling power to organise a meeting. Both Taylor's parents and the girl's father were hoping that this would lead to marriage. Audrina smiled to herself. It could never happen. Taylor had told her so himself.  
"Well, I have to go," he said. "They're going to make me meet this girl, but don't worry Audrina, they can't force me to marry her. I won't love her, she won't be like that beautiful girl I saw so many years ago, the one you are so much like. If they were going to make me marry I'd actually rather marry you, my mute deer with the huge eyes." He kissed her quickly on the lips and played with her hair, and Audrina started to toy with the possibility that she might not be doomed to die. 


	7. Part 7

Part Seven  
  
The next morning Audrina went with Taylor to the rock star's mansion in Los Angeles. The church bells in the little church on the estate were ringing, music was blaring from the sound system, and dancing girls paraded around the yard. Everyone was being very nice to Audrina, Taylor, and the rest of the Hansons, but the girl had not yet arrived. Her father told Taylor that she was in a holy convent on the East Coast, where she was learning every Christian virtue.  
At last the girl arrived. Audrina was anxious to see her competition and she had to admit that she had never seen anyone more beautiful. The girl had clear and delicate skin, long dark lashes, silky blonde hair, and deep blue expressive eyes. Audrina noticed that the girl wasn't all that well endowed. Or at least, not so well endowed as Audrina was. Audrina had to calm herself. Taylor would never fall for this girl. She wasn't the girl from long ago, and the girl from long ago was the only girl Taylor could ever love. He'd said so himself.  
"It's you!" Taylor said, running over to embrace the girl. "It's been so long since I've seen you. It's been, what?"  
"Six years," the girl replied, kissing him.  
Audrina stepped on her own foot, attempting to numb the pain in her heart.  
Taylor turned to Audrina. "Oh, I am too happy!" he said, taking her hand. "My greatest wish, which I never dared to even think of, has come true. I know you'll be happy for Aimee and I, for you love me more than anyone."  
Audrina gave a little smile and kissed Taylor's hand, feeling as though her heart was already breaking. Not only had she lost Taylor's heart, but her life's use-by date was approaching rapidly.  
That evening the church bells pealed and journalists milled outside the estate, eager to snap photos of the wedding. On the alters scented oil was burning in expensive gold lamps. The priests swung their censers , and Aimee and Taylor joined hands and received the bishop's blessing. Audrina, once again dressed in tacky 70s clothing, stood holding Aimee's train. She smiled sweetly but really felt like stepping on the train and making it dirty and torn.  
The same evening everyone boarded a cruise boat and Taylor and Aimee were shown to their cabin. Audrina was shown her velvet cushion lying outside the cabin. Not even a blanket for Audrina.  
When the sun began to set lamps were put up on board and the celebrations began with everybody dancing on deck. Audrina danced most enthusiastically of all, darting and turning like a bird, and everyone applauded her, for even Audrina had never danced so well before.  
But Audrina did not notice the applause. The only thing Audrina noticed was Taylor. She knew that this was the last evening she would be with him - him for whom she'd left her family and home, sacrificed her lovely voice, and daily suffered endless pain, all of which he was unaware. It was the last night that they'd breathe the same air, and see the sea and the starry sky. An eternal dreamless night was waiting for Audrina, the girl who could not win Taylor Hanson's heart.  
And so Audrina partied with the best of them, until after midnight, when Taylor and Aimee retired to their luxurious cabin.  
As Audrina lay her head on her pillow she realised that she would once again have to cover her head with it. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. "Audrina...." she heard voices. "Audriiiiiiiiiiina...." the voices continued. "Audrina Whitefern, how nice to see you."  
Audrina removed the pillow from her head and sat up. Dr. Livingston had come to her in a vision. "Audrina, you do remember that this is the night you must die, don't you?" he said.  
Audrina nodded.  
"Well, it seems that I forgot to mention something. While your face will start to burn as soon as the sun rises, there is a way you can escape this."  
Audrina looked at him with pleading eyes.  
"You can speak, you know."  
Audrina opened her mouth. "What do you mean???" Realising her newfound power, she began to scream. "Help! Help! Somebody save me!!!!"  
Dr. Livingston smiled. "But I'm the only one who can hear you. Sad, isn't it?" He paused, and removed a knife from his pocket. "Audrina dear, if you want to live you must take this knife and thrust it into Taylor's heart, and when his blood sprinkles onto you, you will transform back into your fifteen year old self, standing outside my surgery. You will be able to live your life in any way you choose."  
Audrina took the knife. "Thank you..."  
"Good bye Audrina...." Dr. Livingston said, disappearing.  
Audrina looked at the knife, stood up, and walked into the cabin. She saw Aimee lying asleep with her head on Taylor's chest, and she bent down and kissed him on his beautiful forehead. She looked behind her at the sea and then at her knife and again at Taylor who murmuring something. A name. "Aimee...."  
No, Taylor didn't love Audrina and never would. Aimee alone was in Taylor's thoughts and for a moment the knife trembled in Audrina's hand. But suddenly she flung the knife into her own chest and ran out of the cabin so that she fell out into the sea, just before she died. 


	8. Part 8

Part Eight  
  
"Aimee...." Taylor murmured to himself in his sleep. "Audrina..." he murmured a few seconds later. How he loved Audrina. Good, sweet, Audrina who had been with him so loyally for so many years. Audrina who loved him unconditionally, who asked nothing in return. Maybe it was Audrina that Taylor loved, not Aimee.  
There was a loud splash off the deck that awoke Taylor. He opened his eyes and got up, ready to see what all the commotion was. He walked over to the deck, rubbing his head sleepily and looked out onto the water. It was red. And the body of a young woman was floating on the top. No! It couldn't be!  
Taylor looked back at the cabin. Audrina was not lying on her pillow like she normally would be. Audrina was lying dead in the ocean and her blood-soaked knife lay at Taylor's feet.  
"Audrina," Taylor murmured, picking up the knife and staring at it. "You didn't.... did you??? For me??" He sighed. "Oh, what an idiot I am! How could I not have noticed you when you were there all along? I thought you were so beautiful, but then...." Taylor studied the knife some more. "How am I going to live life now, without you?"  
Taylor gripped the knife and plunged it into his chest. He began to feel woozy, lost his balance and fell over the side of the ship, crashing into the bloody waves.  
Audrina was dead. Taylor was dead. And now they'd be together forever. 


End file.
